Gobi Desert
Gobi Desert | |
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Gobi Desert in the PC release of Mario's Time Machine | |
First appearance | Mario's Time Machine (1993) |
Greater location | China, Mongolia |
Inhabitants | Explorers (including Marco Polo) |
The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁; Pinyin: Gēbì; Mongolian: ᠭᠣᠪᠢ, Gowĭ; Cyrilic Mongolian: Гови, Govi) is a region of desert that stretches from China to Mongolia. It was commonly used as a means of entering the neighboring areas. In the thirteenth century, Marco Polo crossed the desert with his family, Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, and eventually reached Cambuluc, the capital of the Mongol Empire. After spending years in the capital, they eventually crossed the desert again to return home, this time with a Mongolian princess who they needed to escort to the Khan of Persia. In 1292, Mario travels to the Gobi Desert himself to return a Print Block to Marco Polo while he is still on the outskirts of Cambuluc.
The name "Gobi Desert" is also briefly shown in any ending cutscene of the MS-DOS version for Mario's Time Machine, alongside Eat at Joe's, when Bowser tries to escape to Paradise in the year 2000 by using the timulator.